The Roar Deal

Blurk... spit....ugh...

Sometimes its hard to be an Aussie living overseas. For some reason its only the news stories that reinforce our cultural cringe that seem to make it to the rest of the world. I cringed in Madrid when Pauine Hanson went global. I winced in London during the "tamper crisis". I pulled my hat down over my eyes in Napoli when Australia would not sign the Kyoto protocol. But I have never been quite as ashamed as I was in Singapore when the Socceroos sent out a team without a striker. 

On my arrival back in Vietnam I ordered a Pizza. The delivery guy asked if I was Australian, then laughed. Then said "Foootball" then laughed. Then said "Ozzie Football" then shook his head and laughed a little more. 

"I don't see Vietnam at the finals!" I said as his motor bike flew across the rice paddy. 

When I met the two Vietnamese friends who had sworn to be honorary Ozzies for the world cup, they smugly counted their winnings on the game, one have picked 4-0 exactly. Think I will watch the Ghana game in the expat bar after all. 

Putting Tim Cahill up front simultaneously denied the team a proper outlet and deprived the team of it's best midfielder. A masterstroke of self self sabotage.  Cahill is our only world class outfielder - why play him out of position?? If Kennedy is not good enough to start, why bring him?? Why bring no one else??? AArrhhh. 

At least the situation demands a more attacking strategy for the next two games. 

PS: Ozil - wow! 

Scandelroos

So apparently a disgruntled senior socceroo who has been in the squad for ten years has chosen to send an anonymous email spilling the beans on the off-field antics of the socceroos. None of the current team made their debut in 1999 and apart from Schwartzer who is mentioned in the email, only Neil, Kewel and Chipperfield have been in the roos for more than 10 years (not Sterjovski as I wrote to the Tele below before checking wiki).

For some reason this anonymous player, who we can only assume must be Kewel or Chipperfield as it is a criticism of team leadership which implicates the Captain Neil, chose to send this email two a rugby league blogger notorious for his anti football stance which is well documented by Mike at The Football Tragic.  Are we to believe that in the best interests of the game a concerned Socceroo has chosen to confide in The Daily Telle's Phil "Its not football" Rothfield and Rebecca "socca is for girls" Wilson?

Or is it possible that the email is from a Football hater who did not realise that it would be very rare for a player to be in the soceroos for ten years and also did not realise that while they only became aware of football with the 2006 world cup, it probably did not actually turnthe socceroos into "big-time charlies".

The Telle claim the email was confirmed by a phone call. I would want more proof than that before I published these kind of allegations. Especially when should they be true the list of possible anonymous whistle blowers is very short. 

We sent this comment to Phil and Wilson this morning, but wont hold our breath for a response, or even publication.  

"Seems very unlikely to me that a Socceroo would choose Rebecca and Phil to confide in. No offence intended, but there is no shortage of dedicated Soccer Journos who have a proud record of criticising the national set up and the FFA. 

If a socceroo who had been in the national team for ten years had really written this, it is unlikely that they would have mentioned that fact, as so few players have achieved that feat. Of the current squad, none have been in the socceroos as long as Shwartzer and only Kewel, Chipperfield and Stirjiovski have been in the team for 10 years.

Also the idea that the lads have started feeling like "Big-time Charlies" and that it has got worse since the world cup sounds like an assumption that would be made by a non-football person. The world cup did not turn these players into big stars, European football did. The media and fan attention they get playing for their european clubs would be much more likely to go to their head than the vaguely increased profile of the socceroos in australia since 2006.

Also seems odd that the email has no salutation or request for anonymity. I think we should take this anonymous email with a pinch of salt."    

Olyroos 1 v Serbia 1

Olyroos pumped 29 long balls in 90 minutes of these, 2 created attacking opportunities and 24 gave the ball away. Serbia gave it away with the long ball only 13 times. Milligan did it 9 times by himself! 

It is worth noting that our best player, Spiranovic, did not do it once. 

Is this Arnie's game plan. Chase the long ball in the heat with no target man in the squad? 

Only brave defense from North and Mathew "beckenbauer" Spiranovic and the occasional comically accidental piece of blocking from the fumbling but well meaning Topor-Stanley saved the roos.

Milligan and Musilak sat so deep that there was no link between defense and attack until Celeski replaced milligan and he and Carney proved they were good enough to take on the serbs at actually playing football.